Another Updated ESPN Way Too Early Top 25 | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Another Updated ESPN Way Too Early Top 25

socal613ws said:
so am guessing you are banking on a few things: #1 that Annaya Patterson and Brady have huge impacts as rookies which nothing has told me that to be the case. Aubrey Griffin who didn't play a single minute last season to be playing a higher expected rate than before, and to have Lou get 20 min a night. That seems a lot of wishful thinking imo.
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Wrong. Please don’t make assumptions on my behalf. Up front, Dorka and Aaliyah will be solid as the 4/5 combination. Ayanna & Ice will both make significant contributions as freshmen. Suggesting they will be “huge” is hyperbole. Amari and Aubrey are both wild cards. But if one or both step up, UConn is overloaded with talented Bigs.

What I also maintain is that every single forward currently on UConn’s roster is more athletic and versatile than Ebo, who is not a good fit for the Huskies motion offense and switching defense. I don’t know that Ebo is a much better fit at ND, but at least she’ll be playing zone defense there.

Finally, I have no idea how many minutes Lou gets per night. What I know is that UConn lost 2 guards to the WNBA and they added one solid grad student to shore up their depth at guard.
 
oldude said:
What I also maintain is that every single forward currently on UConn’s roster is more athletic and versatile than Ebo, who is not a good fit for the Huskies motion offense and switching defense. I don’t know that Ebo is a much better fit at ND, but at least she’ll be playing zone defense there.
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I know right. I'm just trying to picture Ebo in a switching D. How frequently did Olivia or Aaliyah or Dorka end up in a high hedge or guarding someone near the perimeter? I only watched a handful of Texas games from last season, but I can't recall a whole lot of times Ebo was asked to leave the lane on D. She just doesn't have the foot speed to be effective out there. Maybe she can contribute at ND. After all, Dodson had a pretty good year there and didn't leave the center of the zone much.
 
Today's update
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Anyone else think NC State is too low? Diamond Johnson/Saniya Rivers has a chance to be one hell of a back court and maybe the best in the country.

And, can someone explain the love Stanford gets? They don't have guards. I get that their wig/post game is top notch, but like, they don't have a PG or shooters.
 
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ucbart said:
And, can someone explain the love Stanford gets? They don't have guards. I get that their wig/post game is top notch, but like, they don't have a PG or shooters.
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My question, too. Tara has recruited a couple of freshman guards, including Nunu Agara from Hopkins HS. Maybe they’ll be able to cover the 1-2 along with Hannah Jump. But perimeter shooting was the key to their low post game the last few years, and I don’t see where that’s going to come from. Betts and Brink are likely to be in foul trouble a lot this year without the threat of perimeter shooters. I’m surprised they’re even ranked in the top 10. Someone must be seeing something I’m not.

Picture a lineup like Jones Brink Jump… and then who? Prechdel? Iriafen? Betts? That will be a slow team, huge but slow. Stanford has been a quick team these past few years. If they’re going to rely on a speed game again that means playing the freshmen. If not, then it means rethink the positionless offense.

Either way it means they should have to prove themselves before they’re immediately anointed a number 1 or even a 2 seed. Lots more questions about them than about us w/o Paige.
 
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ucbart said:
Anyone else think NC State is too low? Diamond Johnson/Saniya Rivers has a chance to be one hell of a back court and maybe the best in the country.

And, can someone explain the love Stanford gets? They don't have guards. I get that their wig/post game is top notch, but like, they don't have a PG or shooters.
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I agree that NCSU is too low, even though we haven't seen that Saniya Rivers is a shooter. I'd move them up 3-4 spots.
 
GEAinAustin said:
Tennessee, Iowa and Louisville are over ranked .
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I definitely agree about Tennessee and Iowa. Louisville looks about right to me. Jeff finds a way, especially on the defensive end.
 
ucbart said:
Anyone else think NC State is too low? Diamond Johnson/Saniya Rivers has a chance to be one hell of a back court and maybe the best in the country.

And, can someone explain the love Stanford gets? They don't have guards. I get that their wig/post game is top notch, but like, they don't have a PG or shooters.
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Pretchel and Jump are premiere shooters . The PG spot is where the mystery lies . Overall with a 2 headed monster like Haley Jones & Cameron Brink the tree will be there at the end. Tara has a knack for developing a player into a position randomly during the season and they become a player of notice . Wonder whom that will be this year ? NC State is Top 5 material imo. Boyd , Johnson , Rivers , MiMi Collins , River Baldwin , Brown-Turner make a solid core . They are way to low imo i do not see Louisville or ND being more talented than that group .
 
Not sure about NC State. Wes Moore tried hard to get Shaylee Gonzalez to transfer in so he wouldn’t have to play Diamond Johnson at the point. She wants to shoot, not get others involved. Also, going from Cunane to Mimi Collins/River Baldwin. I dunno.
 
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Mdoggie said:
“The title is theirs to lose” I kinda have a problem with that statement as they can never lose the title the have since it’s on a yearly basis. Better said they are the early favorite to win another.
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That's Geno's line! I call plagiarism! ;)
 
WFFL said:
Some may say UCONN is over ranked as well . There's so many question marks for a lot of the top 10 teams outside of SC .
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UConn was ranked in the top 6 for most of last season while Paige was out.
 
HuskyNan said:
UConn was ranked in the top 6 for most of last season while Paige was out.
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We also dropped to the lowest ranking in decades with her out too . Overall thsi team is prepared and not having paige last year i think will benefit them a tons this season .
 
GEAinAustin said:
U Conn plays 6 of this top 15, that alone should be proof that this ranking is questionable.
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It's going to be more enjoyable when we knock these teams off. We'll show them! Go Huskies.
 
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socal613ws / Lou has nothing to do with Caroline's development. I will make the assumption for old dude. Do you think that Patterson, arguably the best power forward to come out of high school in years and being the #4 ranked player, and Griffin who in her 1st 2 years absolutely was a force to deal with, will not have an impact or play significant minutes ? I do.
 
No way the best team in the ACC is ranked #11 in this poll. In my opinion, State has the most talented roster in the ACC. I'd put them at either 4 or 5. Even though Cunane was the headline player, I think Perez is their biggest loss. Hopefully they will have another viable PG to pair with Diamond Johnson.

No way the 6th (at best) team in the ACC is ranked #12. I just don't understand the love for that team.
 
Bone Dog said:
My question, too. Tara has recruited a couple of freshman guards, including Nunu Agara from Hopkins HS. Maybe they’ll be able to cover the 1-2 along with Hannah Jump. But perimeter shooting was the key to their low post game the last few years, and I don’t see where that’s going to come from. Betts and Brink are likely to be in foul trouble a lot this year without the threat of perimeter shooters. I’m surprised they’re even ranked in the top 10. Someone must be seeing something I’m not.

Picture a lineup like Jones Brink Jump… and then who? Prechdel? Iriafen? Betts? That will be a slow team, huge but slow. Stanford has been a quick team these past few years. If they’re going to rely on a speed game again that means playing the freshmen. If not, then it means rethink the positionless offense.

Either way it means they should have to prove themselves before they’re immediately anointed a number 1 or even a 2 seed. Lots more questions about them than about us w/o Paige.
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You forgot about Belibi

Im confident their line up will consist of these 5 main constants.

Jones
Jump
Belibi
Brink
Pretchel & Betts will come in off the bench .
 
triaddukefan said:
No way the best team in the ACC is ranked #11 in this poll. In my opinion, State has the most talented roster in the ACC. I'd put them at either 4 or 5. Even though Cunane was the headline player, I think Perez is their biggest loss. Hopefully they will have another viable PG to pair with Diamond Johnson.

No way the 6th (at best) team in the ACC is ranked #12. I just don't understand the love for that team.
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Definitely think they are a bit overrated , top 25 material yes but serious contenders no. Positive trajectory though so far under banghart.
 
WFFL said:
You forgot about Belibi

Im confident their line up will consist of these 5 main constants.

Jones
Jump
Belibi
Brink
Pretchel & Betts will come in off the bench .
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Yes, I did. I mentioned her in a similar post in a different thread.

But your revision only makes my point -- Jones Jump Belibi Brink is a slow core that only gets slower as soon as Betts or Prechdel sub in. And you still need a fifth, preferably a guard. Will it be Nivar or Lepolo? Or go bigger with Iriafen?

Last year, Tara could run a big team because the Hull sisters were exceptionally quick for 6 footers. But it cost them a couple of times. They don't have the Hulls this season and they will be slower because of it, unless a freshman or two bails them out at guard.

I don't doubt Tara will solve this puzzle. But it's a huge question mark that ought to have placed them outside the top ten in a preseason estimation.
 
WFFL said:
You forgot about Belibi

Im confident their line up will consist of these 5 main constants.

Jones
Jump
Belibi
Brink
Pretchel & Betts will come in off the bench .
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Uhm…..6 forwards…….0 guards. I don’t think that’s gonna cut it in the Pac-12. :rolleyes:
 
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Bone Dog said:
Yes, I did. I mentioned her in a similar post in a different thread.

But your revision only makes my point -- Jones Jump Belibi Brink is a slow core that only gets slower as soon as Betts or Prechdel sub in. And you still need a fifth, preferably a guard. Will it be Nivar or Lepolo? Or go bigger with Iriafen?

Last year, Tara could run a big team because the Hull sisters were exceptionally quick for 6 footers. But it cost them a couple of times. They don't have the Hulls this season and they will be slower because of it, unless a freshman or two bails them out at guard.

I don't doubt Tara will solve this puzzle. But it's a huge question mark that ought to have placed them outside the top ten in a preseason estimation.
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I dont think the hull sisters were extremely quick and if speed is the biggest worry for the Cardinals i think they will be okay with that. That top 4 is as talented as any top 5 in the country with a coach like Tara leading them . The same with Geno leading us and our questions marks without paige . We believe were going to take it all still because we have Geno so why can't the same be said for Stanford ?
 
Jump is a guard. Jones has been a de facto guard for much of her career at Stanford. Brink ain't slow. Don't know why anyone would think that. Everybody seems to have forgotten Demetre. She didn't get a lot of PT last year, not because she wasn't good, just tough to crack the rotation. She had some moments when she did see the floor. Also she won't score a lot, but I can just about guarantee Emma-Nnopu will be in the rotation. Oh, Belibi ain't slow either. Don't know what some of ya'll are watching. PG is the big question mark, but Stanford as a team has ridiculous length, they have some athletes, they have versatility.
 
WFFL said:
I dont think the hull sisters were extremely quick and if speed is the biggest worry for the Cardinals i think they will be okay with that. That top 4 is as talented as any top 5 in the country with a coach like Tara leading them . The same with Geno leading us and our questions marks without paige . We believe were going to take it all still because we have Geno so why can't the same be said for Stanford ?
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Yes, we do believe it, and we also understand why folks elsewhere might think we should be ranked lower. Maybe it's because of Geno that we believe. I get that Stanford fans -- what are they doing here? -- also believe, and for analogous reasons. And like us, they should also understand that folks elsewhere might well think they shouldn't be ranked #2 in a preseason poll without having answered any questions about their lineup.

nwhoopfan said:
Jump is a guard. Jones has been a de facto guard for much of her career at Stanford. Brink ain't slow. Don't know why anyone would think that.
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nwhoopfan said:
Belibi ain't slow either.
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No one denied Jump is a guard. Why would you even suggest that? She's a pretty good one with an excellent 3pt shot. And Jones has indeed been a de facto guard, which means she's really a forward playing guard. No one ever said Brink, or Belibi, or even Jones aren't fast. But they're quick as big players, not as guards. The Hulls were quick as big players too, and a bit quicker than Jones and Brink and Belibi. Next you'll be telling us how fast Prechtel is. Don't even pretend any of them can effectively matchup well against someone like Rori Harmon -- now that's guard quickness. Oh, wait, we already saw what happens when you put the entire Stanford guard corps (including de facto guard Jones) up against Harmon. They were vulnerable to teams with a quick guard last season and they'll be even more so this season. Will Tara figure out a solution to this vulnerability? I'm very confident she will, just as she did last season. But until then, Stanford doesn't deserve a #2 ranking in a preseason poll. Sorry.
 
Bone Dog said:
Yes, we do believe it, and we also understand why folks elsewhere might think we should be ranked lower. Maybe it's because of Geno that we believe. I get that Stanford fans -- what are they doing here? -- also believe, and for analogous reasons. And like us, they should also understand that folks elsewhere might well think they shouldn't be ranked #2 in a preseason poll without having answered any questions about their lineup.




No one denied Jump is a guard. Why would you even suggest that? She's a pretty good one with an excellent 3pt shot. And Jones has indeed been a de facto guard, which means she's really a forward playing guard. No one ever said Brink, or Belibi, or even Jones aren't fast. But they're quick as big players, not as guards. The Hulls were quick as big players too, and a bit quicker than Jones and Brink and Belibi. Next you'll be telling us how fast Prechtel is. Don't even pretend any of them can effectively matchup well against someone like Rori Harmon -- now that's guard quickness. Oh, wait, we already saw what happens when you put the entire Stanford guard corps (including de facto guard Jones) up against Harmon. They were vulnerable to teams with a quick guard last season and they'll be even more so this season. Will Tara figure out a solution to this vulnerability? I'm very confident she will, just as she did last season. But until then, Stanford doesn't deserve a #2 ranking in a preseason poll. Sorry.
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I think those polls were gracious to more than just stanford . The only legitimate unanimous choice is SC at #1 . Everyone else could be ranked anywhere from 10-25 to UR very quickly this season.
 
An addendum: Tara has booked a pretty soft schedule before Xmas -- the rest hasn't been released yet. Only two tough games, SC and Tennessee. If they win those, then they will have answered all the questions and deserve that #2 ranking. Creighton is an interesting matchup for them. They should dominate it. If they don't, or even lose to Creighton, they should drop below #10
 
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